Chapter 6 Bloodline Resonance
Cole thought for a long time, then he realized what was going on with Sophia.
The poison The Volchatnik used against bloodline heirs seeped in from the base of her nails, traveling along the blood vessels toward the heart.
There were no symptoms in the early stages of poisoning, only a black line appearing at the base of the nails.
When the black line extended to halfway up the nail, the poisoned person would fall into a deep coma.
When the black line reached the tip of the nail, the poisoned person's bloodline crystal core would be completely suppressed, and they would die.
The black line on Sophia's nails had traveled about a quarter of the way.
That meant she'd been poisoned for at least three months.
But the car accident was a year ago. If she'd been poisoned the day of the accident, the black line should have reached the tip of her nail by now.
But she was still alive, and the black line had only traveled a quarter of the way.
This meant only one thing—her Phoenix bloodline was fighting back.
The bloodline power was suppressed, but not completely locked down.
The crystal core was still working, fighting against the spread of the toxin. That's why she was still alive, but couldn't wake up.
Cole reached out his hand. This time without hesitation, he pressed his finger directly on Sophia's wrist.
Her skin was ice cold.
But the instant his fingertip touched her skin, the heat in his chest surged up violently.
That warmth was no longer tentative—it rushed out directly, flowing from his chest along his arm to his fingertip, as if something was pulling it over.
The silver dagger at his waist vibrated so hard it almost jumped out of its sheath, the scabbard knocking against his belt with a soft sound.
Cole pressed his finger on Sophia's pulse and closed his eyes.
Heat flowed back and forth between his palm and her wrist.
He felt two forces—
One was his own, surging out from his chest, wild and burning;
The other came from Sophia's wrist, flowing up from her arm, warm and calm.
The two forces met at the point of contact. Instead of repelling each other, they intertwined, like two rivers flowing together into the sea.
Cole's heartbeat grew faster and faster. He felt the Fenrir bloodline inside him becoming especially excited and agitated—
Like a wild beast roaring with excitement inside his body.
A moment later, Cole opened his eyes.
As if responding to him, Sophia's finger moved consciously.
The movement was slight—so slight that if Cole's finger hadn't been pressed on her wrist, he wouldn't have noticed it at all.
Cole stared at Sophia's peaceful face.
Though her eyes were closed, Cole sensed that her consciousness had awakened.
More precisely, her Phoenix bloodline had awakened.
The Phoenix bloodline had sensed the Fenrir bloodline, been roused from sleep, and responded.
Cole withdrew his hand.
The heat in his chest slowly subsided, but didn't disappear completely.
It was like a small flame remained in his chest cavity, not burning hot, just glowing warmly.
Cole sat in the chair, looking at Sophia's hand, running through what he'd just sensed in his mind.
Old Eric had said that the Fenrir wolf clan and the Sacred Phoenix clan were the two great guardian bloodlines from ancient times, complementing each other for generations.
When two crystal cores came together, they would resonate.
This wasn't legend—it was written into the bloodline itself.
What he'd just sensed was the Phoenix crystal core inside Sophia's body.
The core was still there, and still active.
The toxin had suppressed it, but hadn't destroyed it.
As long as the crystal core remained, Sophia could still be saved!!!
But the problem was—
Cole looked at the black line on Sophia's nail.
The toxin was still in her body, and Victor's people could poison her again at any time. The Volchatnik could send people again at any time.
And the bloodline resonance he'd just created, though not very strong, had lasted nearly two minutes.
This level of bloodline fluctuation—if there was Volchatnik detection equipment in the manor, it had likely already been picked up.
He needed to move faster.
Cole stood up, walked to the window, and looked outside.
No one in the garden.
On the distant lawn, two security guards were patrolling, both with walkie-talkies on their belts.
He drew the curtains, returned to the bedside, and pulled out the silver dagger from his waist. Cole placed the knife beside Sophia's hand, not directly touching her skin, just 2 inches away. The patterns on the blade flickered once, then dimmed again.
Not rejection. It had sensed something, but the intensity wasn't enough.
His wolf heart crystal core had been dug out, leaving his bloodline strength at less than half. With his current strength alone, he could only awaken the Phoenix crystal core's activity, but not enough to help Sophia expel the toxin. To completely detoxify her, he'd either need to recover his own crystal core, or let Sophia's own Phoenix bloodline fully awaken.
But full awakening would take time. And Sophia's black line had already traveled a quarter of the way.
Cole returned the knife to his waist.
Footsteps sounded outside the door. Not the sound of security guards' boots, but leather shoes on the wooden floor, unhurried steps with a steady rhythm.
Cole turned around, facing the door.
The footsteps stopped at the door. The doorknob turned, and the door was pushed open.
Victor Rockefeller stood in the doorway.
He'd changed into a light gray suit today. He wasn't holding a wine glass, but a phone.
He saw Cole standing by the bed, his gaze sweeping back and forth between Cole and Sophia on the bed.
"How's the care going?"
Cole didn't answer.
Victor walked in, standing on the other side of the bed, looking down at Sophia.
His expression didn't change much, but Cole noticed his gaze paused for an instant on Sophia's hand.
"The doctor will come for a follow-up the day after tomorrow," Victor said, his tone like he was discussing the weather. "If there's no improvement, we'll stop the follow-up treatment. The Rockefeller family doesn't keep someone who'll never wake up."
Cole looked at him.
"I told you, I can cure her."
Victor raised his eyelids, looking at him.
The two men faced each other across the bed.
The corner of Victor's mouth moved—not a smile, but that perfunctory look of hearing a joke but being too lazy to laugh.
"You said that. But I don't believe it."
He tucked the phone into his pocket and turned toward the door.
When he reached the doorway, he stopped for a step without turning around.
"Remember your place. Take care of her, don't do anything extra."
The door closed.
The sound of leather shoes gradually faded down the hallway.
Cole stood in place, looking at the closed door.
Victor hadn't come to inspect.
He'd come to confirm—to confirm whether Sophia showed any signs of waking, to confirm whether Cole had "done anything extra."
That glance at Sophia's hand wasn't casual—it was a targeted check.
He knew Sophia's hand might move.
Why?
Unless he also knew about bloodline resonance.
Unless The Volchatnik had told him what would happen when Fenrir bloodline came near Phoenix bloodline.
Unless there really was equipment in the manor to detect bloodline fluctuations, and the resonance just now had already been picked up.
Cole looked down at Sophia's hand.
Her fingers curled quietly, not moving again.
But he knew that today's movement, however slight, was enough to put Victor on high alert.
The day after tomorrow when the doctor came for the follow-up, if they found any improvement in Sophia's vital signs, Victor would definitely make his move. Cole sat back in the chair, reached into the canvas bag, and felt the medicine bottle Old Eric had given him.
There were still five pills inside. He poured out one and held it in his palm.
Before the day after tomorrow, he had to make Sophia's body show obvious improvement—good enough for the doctor to confirm on the spot, good enough for other members of the Rockefeller family to see, good enough that Victor wouldn't dare make a move openly.
But at the same time, he couldn't let Sophia actually wake up. Once Sophia opened her eyes and spoke, Victor would silence her at any cost.
Cole put the pill back in the bottle.
He had two days.
